All investing comes with some danger. However that danger must be primarily based available on the market, not your dealer. That’s why we safeguard each your Betterment account and your investments with a number of safety measures, all so you’ll be able to log in and make investments or save with peace of thoughts. Right here’s a sampling.
4 methods we maintain your Betterment account secure
Two-factor authentication
Two-factor authentication (2FA) provides an additional layer of safety to your account, like an additional lock on a door. In addition to your common password, 2FA requires a second type of verification equivalent to a code texted to your cellphone (good) or one served up by an authenticator app like Google Authenticator (much more safe). This helps be certain that even when somebody manages to pay money for your Betterment password, they nonetheless cannot entry your account and not using a second type of verification.
Encryption
Each time you work together with us, whether or not on our web site or our app, your information is protected by encrypted connections. Which means the knowledge transmitted between your machine and our servers is scrambled in a manner that solely we are able to perceive.
Password hashing
Whenever you create a password on your Betterment account, it is not saved in plain textual content. As a substitute, we use a course of known as hashing, which converts your password into a singular string of characters. This manner, even when our programs have been breached, your precise password would stay unknown and unusable by unauthorized events.
App-specific passwords
Connecting third-party apps to 1 one other unlocks all types of advantages. You’ll be able to see your web value if you log in to Betterment. You’ll be able to shortly import your Betterment tax kinds to your tax prep software program. To allow these connections securely, we provide app-specific passwords. If any certainly one of these connections is compromised, you’ll be able to simply revoke entry with out affecting the safety of your primary Betterment account.
4 methods we maintain your investments secure
Simple verification of holdings
Transparency is certainly one of our key rules, so we make it simple to confirm every part is in its proper place. We not solely present every commerce made in your behalf and the exact variety of shares through which you’re invested, we additionally listing every fractional share bought and the respective gross proceeds and value foundation for every. You’ll find all this data within the Holdings and Exercise tabs for every of your targets.
Impartial oversight
We commonly endure evaluation by unbiased auditors. This implies auditors reconcile each share and each greenback we are saying now we have in opposition to our precise holdings. In addition they spot test random buyer accounts and confirm that account statements match our inside data. They usually ask questions if something is even a penny off.
No commingling of funds
Your funds are stored separate from Betterment’s operational funds. Which means your investments are held in your identify and are by no means blended with our firm funds. Within the unlikely occasion we face monetary difficulties, your property stay safe and untouched.
SIPC insurance coverage
So as to add one other layer of safety, your Betterment securities are insured by the Securities Investor Safety Company (SIPC). This insurance coverage covers as much as $500,000 per buyer, together with a $250,000 restrict for money claims. Whereas SIPC doesn’t shield in opposition to market losses, it does present a security web in case of a brokerage failure. An explanatory brochure is accessible upon request or at sipc.org.
How one can assist
In the long run, a very powerful safety measure is you. Be looking out for suspicious cellphone calls, texts, and emails (odd-looking URLs, typo-riddled messages, and many others.) and know that Betterment won’t ever ask you on your password or 2FA code besides when logging in or modifying your private data within the app. Use a robust, distinctive password on your account, and don’t hesitate to contact us instantly in the event you suspect a rip-off message and must confirm that we’ve reached out. We’ve obtained your again, and between the 2 of us, we might help maintain dangerous actors at bay.
